An Education
by Lily-Starbuck
Summary: Lou has a secret. Catherine uncovers it. Lame summary (I hope to God the story is better lol!)


**Hey guys. Sorry I've been seriously lacking with updates recently, I moved house about a month ago and I've had zero inspiration so I've actually written nothing in a while. This is just a little something I wrote back in April and am finally getting round to posting lol. It's just a little something I had batting around in my brain. I plan to add another chapter to it (hopefully soon). Also, anyone who knows me (or follows me on Twitter lol) will notice some similarities between me and Lou hehe. As always I own nothing. Enjoy!**

Lou Vartann had a secret obsession. It had developed during his freshman year of college and stayed with him his entire life. He had planned to share it with his son, a bonding moment of sorts, but when he'd deemed him old enough Jake had showed very little interest. Lou had managed to keep his obsession from family, friends, even his ex-wife. But now his secret was out.  
"What's going on?"  
Lou froze, feeling like a teenager being caught by his mother with a Playboy. Slowly he turned his head til his eyes landed on his girlfriend Catherine Willows. She was stood by the door, her keys, briefcase and jacket already occupying their usual spots by the door, a look of intrigue covering her face.  
Lou cleared his throat. "I'm watching TV."  
"I can see that," she replied, kicking off her shoes and moving further into the room. "Whatever it is must be good; I could hear you all the way from the end of the driveway."

The detective flushed and Catherine chuckled, crossing to the couch and settling herself next to him, pulling her legs up under her body.  
"So what's got you all excited?" the strawberry blonde enquired with a smirk, her gaze flitting between the TV screen and his face.  
Lou sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch. "Soccer."  
Catherine giggled. "Soccer? You mean you were making all that noise watching soccer?" His only response was to sigh loudly, nod and close his eyes. Her giggles increased and she turned her attention back to the TV, just in time to see one of the players kick the ball into the net.  
"Oh, someone scored!" Lou grunted as she squinted to read the tiny score box in the top left hand corner of the screen. "There's a one by C.H.E., whatever that means."  
Lou's eyes snapped open at the same time as his head jerked upright. "Chelsea? Chelsea are one nil up? Damn I missed it! Who scored?"  
"How the hell should I know?" He pouted and Catherine rolled her eyes slightly. "I'm sure they'll show it again.

They lapsed into silence as Lou's focus returned to the match.  
"So I'm guessing Chelsea is the team you follow?" His only response was a quick nod, his eyes glued to the screen. Catherine chuckled and stood, heading to the kitchen for a drink. She'd just opened the refrigerator when the sound of Lou's voice made her jump.  
"Oh come on! He got the ball you ass! There was nothing wrong with that tackle"  
The redhead shook her head and smiled, grabbing a Diet Coke before settling herself at the breakfast bar to read the paper. Occasional cheers and curses, along with one very emphatic plea for a penalty filtered through from the next room until a while later it grew quiet and Lou strolled into the kitchen.

"Game over?" Catherine asked without looking up from the paper.  
"Yep, Chelsea won three nil," he replied with a smile, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek as he moved past her to get a glass of water.  
"How come you never told me you follow soccer?" She turned round to face him and he shrugged, leaning against the counter.  
"My roommate in college was English and a massive soccer fan; he's the one who started this obsession." Catherine chuckled but let him continue. "Even after college I still followed Chelsea – that was Will's team and it seemed easier to support them than pick another – and I tried to watch as many matches as I could but uh, I tend to get a little loud when I watch."  
"I'd noticed," she cut in and he flushed. "Have you told anyone?"  
"I tried to tell Jake when he was about eleven, but he was more into baseball and basketball. I was a little disappointed because I'd always wanted to share it with him, explain all the rules, who the players were, how the league and competitions work, that kind of thing. I thought it would be something we could enjoy together."

"Well," Catherine spoke after a moment. "Why don't you explain it all to me?" Her heart melted as his face lit up with a look of joy akin to a child on Christmas morning when he realises Santa's been.  
"Really? You'd be interested in listening to me explain all about soccer?"  
His lover shrugged. "Why not? You seem to really enjoy it, and maybe when I understand enough not to bug you with questions the entire time we could watch a game to…" The rest of the word was lost against Lou's mouth as he cupped her face and pressed his lips hard against hers.  
"Wow," she breathed when they broke apart. "If I'd known it would get this reaction I'd have shown an interest in soccer a long time ago."

He chuckled, grabbed them both a soda and settled himself opposite her before beginning her introduction to English soccer. Even though Catherine wasn't very big on sports and was slightly fatigued from a long shift, she found it easy to pay attention to Lou as he explained the finer points of the game he loved so much. He started with the basic rules, including yellow and red cards, and the role of the referee, the names of the players in his favourite team and the positions they played in, pausing over most to go into more detail about the role that position filled. After receiving confirmation that Catherine had understood everything so far, Lou then moved on to how the different leagues worked, glossing slightly over the lower ones before focussing on the Premiership, the top league which Chelsea played in. The woman opposite him couldn't help but chuckle at the look of distaste that crossed his face as he told her about some of the other teams in the Premiership; the look intensified when he mentioned one of the teams that played out of Manchester and caused her to dissolve into giggles. He stopped mid-sentence and leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow at her mirth. This only served to make the redhead laugh harder; even Lou was unable to suppress a smile as tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

A few minutes and multiple deep breaths later Catherine managed to regain control and put an end to her giggle fit.  
"You done?" Lou queried.  
"Yes," she replied, although the word came out somewhere between a squeak and a cough. Clearing her throat she was finally able to compose herself.  
"I'm sorry but wow, you really hate that team don't you?"  
Lou chuckled. "Everybody hates the Scum, it's just the way it works."  
"The Scum?" Catherine repeated, her eyebrows almost reaching her hairline as he answered with a nod.  
"It's what everyone who doesn't support them calls them."  
This started another cascade of laughter and earned her an eye roll from the man opposite. He waited patiently for her to calm once more.  
"Ready to carry on?"  
The strawberry blonde cleared her throat and mock saluted.  
"Yes sir. Please continue my soccer education."  
Lou narrowed his eyes at her in playful reprimand before complying with her request.

He explained about the two main domestic competitions – the FA and Carling Cups – which incorporated teams from lower leagues as well as the Premiership, then moved on to the European competitions – the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League – giving her a brief rundown of some of the other major European teams. Catherine suppressed a smile as he lamented the fact that the Champions League was the only major competition Chelsea had yet to win despite multiple management changes and new players bought by their current owner, a Russian whose name, though somewhat simplistic, the redhead had failed to retain; a fact that irked her mainly because she was still able to recall some of the more complicated player's names Lou had instructed her on earlier.

"Well, that about covers it," the aforementioned man stated, winding up. "Unless you have any questions?"  
Catherine shook her head. "I don't think my brain can handle any more information."  
"Sorry," Lou replied with a sheepish smile.  
"It's ok, I enjoyed it." Her statement was punctuated by a barely stifled yawn. A quick glance at the clock on the wall startled her; it was nearly two hours since Lou had come into the kitchen following the match. As if reading her mind he stood, pulled her up from the table and led her out of the room, ignoring her half-hearted protest about the soda cans as he flipped off the lights and guided her into the bedroom.

"So does this mean I'm ready to watch a match with you?" Catherine asked as she changed into her pyjamas.  
"I don't know," Lou replied, exiting the bathroom and pulling down the covers on his side of the bed. "We'll see how you do with the written test."  
Catherine spun on her heels and stared at him in disbelief. The man in the bed held her gaze, maintaining a neutral expression for a few seconds before smirking. His companion grunted and flung her bra at him, hitting him square in the face.  
"You're an ass you know that?" she threw over her shoulder as she entered the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Lou to chuckle to himself and toss the bra onto the floor.

**Hope ya'll like it. I'll try and get the second chapter done soon :)  
Lily  
-x-**


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